Combat and the Tithe

 Read Genesis 14

 

For 13 years, the kings of cities in the areas of Sodom and Gomorrah were subject to Kedorlaomer of Elam.  In year 14, they rebelled.

We don’t know the details but typically if you lived subjugated to another king or kingdom, you had to pay some sort of tribute—a tax for being conquered and allowed to live in your own homeland.  We might suspect something similar here. That yoke must have finally seemed too heavy.

Realize that we are not talking war among next-door neighbors here. Kedorlaomer of Elam was from the area of Ur of the Chaldeans.  Do you remember when Abram left this area with his father and the rest of the family?  It was not a day trip.

The rest of the invading armies—marauding armies might be more accurate—were along the route that Abram took to get to the Promised Land.  They came from what we call the fertile crescent.  They defeated cities and pillaged them on their way to defeating the rebels.

If you have to mobilize for war, you just as well profit from it. That seemed to be the case.

The locals gathered to fight the invaders in the Siddim valley. This appears to be the area south of the Dead Sea. The four kings and their armies from the north defeated the five from the south or from part of the area that God had promised to Abram’s descendants.

When you are the winner, you take the spoils.  That’s money, gold, silver, cryptocurrency, as well as people.

This story of the 4 marauding armies defeating the 5 local armies would have just been a footnote in history and likely not found its way into the Bible were it not for the fact that one of those people collected as part of the booty or the spoils was Lot.

Lot had gone his own way but not too far.  He kept his flocks in the vicinity of Sodom but lived in the town itself.  He got snatched up with many of the longtime residents.

Word of his capture got to Abram. Abram had to act quickly as the invaders were headed home with their spoils, including Lot.

This part of the text jumps out at me.  Abram had 318 men who were trained for combat.  This man with great wealth and many flocks also kept a militia.  They were not a standing army but essentially, his personal guard and reserve force. I wonder if it was a one weekend a month and two weeks in the summer sort of deal.

In any case, these were not just a bunch of shepherds with rocks and staffs.  They were trained. We don’t see that in the story but Abram had a trained militia. 

But how do 318 men take on 4 armies that just defeated 5 armies?

Abram divided his forces into 2 groups.  That did the trick.  Really?  We get no explanation of how these few men defeated so many.

This is not the story of Gideon where God wanted to make sure that everyone knew he was with Gideon and his victory as he whittled the number of combatants who would save Israel down to 300.  This is Abram with 318 men and without further explanation.

Did Abram’s men conduct a single envelopment?  Was it a pincer movement? We don’t know, at least at this point. We don’t know but we do know that Abram routed his enemies as they fled from what would be northern Israel to Damascus.

After the battle was complete and Lot and many others were rescued and the spoils of war were gathered, we see God providing an explanation through a person to whom we have never been introduced and don’t hear of again until the New Testament.

Melchizedek, the King of Salem and a priest of God Most High, brought out bread and wine for Abram and his warriors.  He also brought something of an explanation.

Abram defeated these 4 armies because he was blessed by God and God himself gave him the victory.

Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. He was priest of God Most High, and he blessed Abram, saying,

“Blessed be Abram by God Most High,

    Creator of heaven and earth.

And praise be to God Most High,

    who delivered your enemies into your hand.”

 So, perhaps this was a bit more like the story of Gideon, or if we keep to the chronology of the Bible, the story of Gideon was like that of Abram’s victory over the 4 armies.

What do you do after such a victory and a blessing from a priest of the Most High God?  You make a tithe.  You give a tenth of all of the spoils to the Lord.

This is a story where we would have liked more information.

When did Abram form this militia?

Did they have shirts made that said:  THE FEW, THE PROUD?

Who is Melchizedek and why don’t we hear of him again for a long time?

How did Abram know to make a tithe?

There is plenty of information that we don’t have, but what we do have is that God made Abram for a special purpose.  He equipped him despite his blunders.  And when needed, he gave him victory in combat.

We don’t know how Abram knew to make a tithe, but he did.  He essentially defined the tithe for all generations.  It is a tenth of what we receive in our pay, dividends, social security, or in the spoils of war.

God would talk to his people more about the tithe once those descendants of Abram returned from slavery into the land promised to them, but for now, we see Abram returning a tenth of that with which God blessed him.

Abram was blessed by God.  Abram had made mistakes and would make more but he was blessed by God and knew to bless God from his blessings.

On most days, we don’t anticipate being called to duty for combat.  We don’t expect to have our relatives taken away by marauding armies.  We don’t expect to do physical battle.

We expect to tend our flocks—do our jobs, get the kids to school, cook dinner, and do the laundry.  Yes, laundry is eternal.

But sometimes we are called to do more.  If it is God who is calling, then God will equip us.  When he does, let us not forget to give him thanksgiving and praise for those unexpected victories.

Let us give him praise not only in our words but in our offerings. Abram gave a tenth of what he had acquired.  He set the bar for the tithe.  Tithe means tenth. Let us never forget to give cheerfully to the Lord out of all that we receive.

Amen.